Freckles, Sleeping Shifts, and Souls
by Diary
Summary: "Relax, my friend," Benny says. "I like 'em younger, prettier, and smoother. Besides, I know how many times I've kissed you." Complete. Edited.


Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.

* * *

"This isn't strategic, Dean. You and Benny both-"

"Shut up, Cas," Dean snaps. "This works."

"Much as I don't like saying it," Benny interjects, "Castiel here has a point. You need more sleep than me, and I need more than I've been getting. We have a sleepless-"

"Damn it, Benny, stow your crap and stop trying to enable him! Our system works, and we-"

Enable," Cas murmurs, tilting his head and studying Dean, causing them to both look over at him. "Dean," he says, stepping forward, "you're afraid I'll disappear, again."

Dean twitches, and then, takes a breath. "Cas, now is not the time to-"

"I can't expect you to trust me as you once did," Cas interrupts, stepping closer. "We both know what I did. To heaven. To Earth. And to you and Sam. But Dean, if you're willing to die to get me out, you still have some form of affection for me. You said you needed me. I'm appealing to that part: Trust that I left to keep the Leviathans away from you. If I leave, you'll put yourself and possibly Benny in jeopardy, trying to find me. I won't do that to you."

"If he does, I'll be happy to kill him," Benny offers.

"Are you- is this you trying to be helpful? No killing the angel, Benny," Dean orders, tiredly, rubbing his forehead.

"He couldn't if he tried."

"I like my odds," Benny retorts, smirking.

"Fine," Dean says, letting out a breath in exasperation, "but I swear to God, Cas, if you so much as move from an inch your spot until it's time to get us up or because monsters decided to cut naptime short, I'll find a way to make you sorry, you son of a bitch. We clear?"

"We're clear."

"Fine, you can have first watch. No killing the vampire, Cas," he warns. "And- just keep your eyes out for monsters. Don't try to count my freckles, again. It's creepy."

Benny makes a noise of amusement as they crawl into a nearby cave.

"Don't," Dean orders. "Your kind is pretty fond of that type of thing."

"Relax, my friend," Benny says. "I like 'em younger, prettier, and smoother. Besides, I know how many times I've kissed you."

"When and why have you-"

"He hasn't," Dean interjects, quickly, as he sinks down to the ground. "It's a- there's a saying, that freckles are marks left behind when an angel kisses someone."

"I highly doubt that's true," Cas says, sinking down when Dean reaches up and tugs at his hand. "Regardless, I've never- that's not why I've tried to count them."

"Benny's just being a dick," Dean answers, lying down. "Four hours, and then, we move."

"I understand."

0

"This isn't working," Benny says as he plants his foot firmly on Dean's wrist. "Now," he tells Cas.

Carefully, Cas squeezes the plant, letting the juice fall on Dean's wound, which causes thrashing, Dean's hand automatically trying to get to the wound.

"You're just now realising this," Dean grits out, reaching up to brush away his tears with his free hand. "I'm fine. Off."

"I didn't sign up to deal with your abandonment issues," Benny retorts as he steps off. "You know that if he left, I'd hear it before you did? And after everything we've gone through to find him, you can bet your ass I'd be hauling you up."

"Dean-"

"Both of you drop it," he mutters, sitting up and carefully rotating his arm. Then, he rubs his wrist. "Ever think the problem is I'm getting too much sleep?"

"You wake up every hour, and it takes you ten minutes to get back to sleep," Benny retorts.

"And you know this, how exactly?" He inquires, glaring at Cas as he asks the question.

A group of demons interrupts the conversation.

0

Benny wakes up gasping.

Cas tilts his head. "You lost someone you loved."

"Yeah," he acknowledges. "I did. It was my fault."

"I can sympathise."

Sitting up, Benny stretches and looks over at Dean. "Sympathise with him. Every prayer he whispered, I heard. And I don't just mean since I first came across from him. I was minding my own business, and suddenly, I hear this voice, can't pinpoint it, carrying on about hating angels and this Sammy boy and desperation for this Cas fella. I started hearing about this crazy, near indestructible hunter by the name of Dean Winchester, and I got the feeling that he and this voice went together. When I found him, sure enough, first words he speaks, I recognise him. Who knows how many prayers he's kept in his head?"

Sighing, Cas briefly closes his eyes. When he opens them, he says, "He'll wake in a minute or two."

Benny doesn't say anything, and when the time passes, Dean is still sound asleep.

"Look at that," Benny says, unsurprised. "He's deep in dreamland."

"I never told you how often he woke," Cas says. "I wondered how you knew, but I see, now. Your hearing."

"I ain't no fool. Letting myself sleep when a nearby hunter's awake, that goes beyond stupid, straight into suicidal."

"But you did."

"I didn't have much of a choice. Once you came along, I did."

"Dean's proven himself trustworthy."

"You haven't. At least, not yet. He'll wake up in an hour."

"You would both be safer if I left."

"Preaching to the choir, Castiel. It doesn't change the fact he's tortured, fought to the death, and prayed, all for you."

"How long will it take for him to sleep for the allotted time without waking?"

"As long as it takes," Benny answers, lying back down.

"You imply a lot of things," Cas says, abruptly.

"What, that he's in love with you, and you with him," Benny inquires, stretching. "Thing is, I don't know for sure about you. You're fond of him, and you once did some unforgivable things. He's forgiven you anyways. You like his freckles. You're willing to die for him. Those things could point to anything. But when it comes to him- I had two options: Try to find someone else to give me a ride, or keep him alive until we found you. I thought long and hard about taking option one, but the thing is, he's a hunter, and me and you are both supernatural. It might go against my normal way to trust a hunter, but in his case, it's the best of a bad situation."

"However, you care for him beyond-"

"Care, yes," Benny interrupts. "I've been betrayed. I've lost loved ones. I'm a soldier. For all of our sakes, you can get over your jealousy. Love, real love, is grand, but I've never been one to take to other men like that. Besides," he says, heavily, "just because she died, it doesn't mean my love did."

0

"Dean, it's cold; take my coat," Cas insists.

"I'm not a girl, Cas," Dean snaps, making a visible effort to stop shivering. Then, before Cas can do more than tilt his head, he continues, "Question for you: We don't need to eat, but we need to sleep. What am I missing?"

"I'm not sure what's sustaining your human body, but souls that come here are still souls. They require sleep."

"Told ya I wasn't soulless, brother," Benny comments from where he's cleaning his weapon.

"That is debateable," Cas answers. "Vampires retain some fragment of what they once were, but-"

"Okay," Dean interrupts. "Cas, why don't you sleep?"

"My father created angels with grace in place of a soul."

"So, just so we're clear, a soulless being is-"

"Benny, shut up," Dean orders, tossing his knife to him. "Cas, you fell asleep in the Impala, once."

"I don't remember that. Was it before or after I was temporarily human?"

"Hell if I remember," Dean mutters, his breath making fog. "Alright, well, this doesn't change anything. One way or another, we're getting you through that damn portal. Anyways, you've always been less of a dick than Sammy was when he was soulless."

"I did far worse than-"

"Cas, shut up. You're my friend and Sam's, and once we get back, we can start making things better, okay?"

That night, Cas watches as Dean shivers in his sleep, despite Benny's coat acting as something of a blanket.

0

"Benny," he says, quietly.

Grumbling, Benny stirs, opening his eyes.

"You need to-"

"You can move," Benny interrupts. "He doesn't care about that. He's scared of you leaving. You really should know by now that people can be hyperbolic."

"I-"

"What do you think he's going to do to you if you leave?"

"He'll find me or die trying."

"What do you think he's going to do if you move but don't leave?"

"I don't know. He might be angry."

"Well, would you rather he be angry and cold or angry and warm?"

Hesitantly, carefully, Cas moves and takes his trench coat off, draping and arranging it over Dean's body. Dean shifts, instinctively wrapping the coat more firmly around himself, a soft, "Cas," tumbling from his mouth. Otherwise, he stays in the same state of sleep.

Cas moves back into his position, looking over to see Benny has fallen back asleep.

0

Later, Dean wakes up, starts to stretch, and freezes. "Cas," he mutters, eyes darting to Cas's spot. Upon seeing him, he relaxes. "Thanks, Cas. You didn't need to."

"You were cold."

"Were you cold, Benny," Dean inquires as Benny smacks Cas's hand when Cas tries to keep him from examining the hospital bracelet that reads Winchester, Castiel. "Cause you especially didn't need to."

"I'm always freezing," Benny answers, rolling his eyes as Cas stuffs his hands into his pockets and squints at him. "It's been so long I've gotten used to it. Blood is what keeps me warm."

0

"What are you doing," Cas asks, as Benny snatches the bracelet from his wrist.

"You'll get it back in a minute," Benny answers, holding it under the water and rubbing. "I know what you're planning. Dropped enough hints with all your talk about how unlikely the portal is to work. I've tried telling him, but he's stupid and stubborn when it comes to you."

Standing back up, he dries the bracelet.

"I can't stop you, but you better think long and hard." Reaching over, he puts the clean bracelet back on, saying, "Look at it."

When Cas does, he says, "You didn't have a name, barely had what could be called a family. Dean gave you both. Maybe you'll be okay not seeing his freckles, and pretty green eyes, and that smile that, near as I can tell, only you can cause, but he won't be. I know I won't be able to do much, and I don't know enough about his brother to say if he can or not."

Letting go, he adds, "And eventually, I'll be back here. If you stay behind, and I come back and find you- It'll be interesting, to say the least."

"Alright," Dean says, reappearing and interrupting the moment, "I got enough stingy, healing plants to last us through the trip. What about you, brother?"

Nodding towards some purple, vaguely protruding plants on the ground, Benny says, "It won't mask your scent, but it'll make you and your angel smell so terrible that even I'm hardly going to be able to stand being around ya."

"I think I've got a solution," Dean says, withdrawing a vaguely pink plant from his pockets. "You can tolerate the smell of this well enough, and it's pretty strong. We wash my jacket, cut some strips, douse 'em, and you stick them up your nose. Better than you stumbling around and not being able to hold yourself up, at any rate," he says when Benny wrinkles his nose at the thought.

"That'll make it impossible for me to smell any of them approaching."

"This," Cas says, gesturing to the purple plants, "will already do so. The other will simply make things more bearable for you."

"Cas," Dean says, taking off his jacket and holding it and his knife over, "why don't you do it?"

0

"It doesn't strike me as a good thing, you wanting to talk to me without your angel here," Benny comments.

"Yeah, why not," Dean inquires, glancing over.

"I don't rightly know."

Sighing, Dean says, "Look, man- Thank you. I know you were against finding Cas and him coming with us, and I know you don't think he'll make it through. Still, you've helped me look out for him, and you've had my back. So- thank you."

"It's simple," Benny answers. "Put up with the angel or stay stuck. Tell me, brother, what do you plan to do with him if you do manage to get him through?"

Shrugging, Dean looks down. "Try to make things right, I guess."

"I can't say I understand."

"I'm still pissed he didn't listen to me, and I hate what he did to Sammy, but the thing is, when I look back on it, I wasn't a very good friend. I can't imagine how alone he was during the year I was with Lisa, and I never did much to help with his problems in Heaven. When I found out what he planned- I could have really listened to his reasons, I could have tried to offer other options, something."

"You think what the angel did was your fault?"

"I think that I miss my best friend," Dean answers. "When he returned the souls to Purgatory, all I kept thinking about was, he could fix Sammy, and me and him could just go somewhere. A diner, a park, hell, even an empty church, and we could talk. Just talk. My brother will always come first, but the thing is, before Lisa and his civil war and everything, I was closer to him than anyone, including Sammy."

"The thing is, I know it probably won't be easy," he finishes, "but I'm not ready to just let things end. He hurt me, I hurt him, we both have a lot of crap we could throw at each other, but- if we could just throw it out and start over instead- I'd do better, and I'd give him a chance to do better."

"Well, my friend," Benny says, clasping his shoulder, "I reckon you ought to tell him all this."

"No. I'm going to wait until we get back. I know he doesn't believe I can, but I will," Dean declares.

"Suit yourself," Benny says, wearily. "Just remember, if you can't, I did everything I could to try to help." Standing, he says, "Now, let's go make sure your angel hasn't drowned."

"I think the angel part has him covered."

"But does he know how to swim? Cause not needing to breathe won't keep him from-"

Cursing, Dean jumps up. "I knew I shouldn't have- I swear, if we have to fish him out of somewhere, I'm- I'm going to trap him in angel fire and fill the room with burgers, all out of his reach."

"Tell me again why I ended up with a knife to my throat when I suggested torturing him."

"He's not your family," Dean answers, breathing a sigh of relief when they come across Cas, carefully drawing lines with plant juice on Dean's jacket. "Almost ready, Cas?"

"Soon," is the answer. "I had thought, perhaps, Anna and the others might be here. Angels, it seems, go nowhere when they die."

"Well," Dean says, sitting down, "when we get back, maybe you and Sammy can figure out the answers to all these questions you have. First thing, though, we're going to do after we drop Benny off, is find a diner and get some pie and burgers. Want me to cut the strips for you?"

"Neither of us have money," Cas points out, sliding the jacket and knife over.

"Hey, Benny-"

"Nope, I'm broker than the both of you combined."

"That doesn't-"

"Dean, I'm starting to think your angel is too literal on purpose."

"Dean, I'm starting to think your vampire purposely says things to 'wind me up'."

"First, I'm not his vampire, and second, if you were like this on Earth, I know I can't be the only one who's ever done it."

"Never change, you two," Dean says with an affectionate sigh. Standing, he helps Cas up and says, "Time to get ready to leave."


End file.
